French Fry Diary 780: BurgerFi Appetizer

BurgerFi is one of those places I have been meaning to go to for quite some time. When I saw one nearby on a business roadtrip with The Bride, I had to stop in, while she did other important stuff.

The first thing that struck me about BurgerFi was the prices.  This place doesn't play, it's expensive, or at least more expensive than other comparable places. Any size single order of fries or onion rings border on around five bucks.  I was startled, only happening upon the place by chance and just wanting a snack.  This was an expensive snack.  I settled for the Cry + Fry, being a combo of fries and rings... at $5.47. 

I had been meaning to go to a BurgerFi for some time since one opened in the Philadelphia Convention Center but that never happened while I lived in New Jersey.  I was happy to find one here in Florida.  It was nice with an open-air patio, Coke Freestyle machines, and a pager to take to your table so they can bring your order out.  They also had Mexican Coke in bottles and Boylan Sodas as well. I thought the latter was a bit odd as it's a Pepsi product.

The Cry + Fry was almost exactly as advertised in the pictures in store and online - three gigantic onion rings atop an order of natural cut fries.  They came out fairly quickly and we're very hot, so probably cooked to order.  All things considered, the portion size was very generous so perhaps I shouldn't have bitched so loudly about price. 

The fries were on par with, if not better than, Five Guys, and yeah, that impressed me too.  They were more than a little addictive as I ate more than I intended without realizing it.  The rings were crunchy and juicy and battered with an orange color.  I was expecting a spicy kick based on the color but it wasn't there. 

Both the fries and rings were very good, thumbs up, I'll have come back when I'm hungry for a burger.  Until then, BurgerFi is highly recommended. 

Free Fries for Election Day

Even though I have moved a thousand miles away, I still miss, and love, The Pop Shop. One of the places I will be sure to visit when I come back to New Jersey will be The Pop Shop.

For Election Day, for all you folks in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, The Pop Shop is doing something special. Show them your "I Voted" sticker on Election Day, and you'll get a free Deluxe Pop Fries with any purchase of $6.00 or more. Awesome!

So get out there and vote, then stop by The Pop Shop for some of the best fries in the area!

French Fry Diary 712: North Bowl

Last month after the Writers Coffeehouse sponsored by the Philadelphia Liars Club (and if you're a writer in the area, and haven't been to this monthly event, shame on you) friend and fellow writer Amy Holiday invited The Bride and me, and the other writers from the SJWG who attended, out to dinner. Because of my predilection for potato-ey things, she picked a place known for its tater tots - North Bowl.

Yes, it's a bowling alley, but it's a cool retro bowling alley, and they have house made gourmet tater tots. It doesn't get better than that. Located in the gentrified Northern Liberties/Fishtown section of Philadelphia, it might be a little difficult to find, and parking is at a premium, but it was worth the trip. The décor is cool retro, you might not realize at first you're in a bowling alley, and of course, there's the tater tots.

To cover our bases for the review, we all ordered different types of these housemade gourmet tater tots. I kicked it old school with the original; while others got the garlic tots with garlic, herbs, and shaved Parmesan; and the crabby tots with old bay and cheese sauce. The tots appeared to be just standard tots, frozen and possibly deep fried, but they didn't taste that way - they were pretty good.

The Bride, and The Dark Crystal in from San Francisco (we miss you, girl!), went off the tater trail and got the cheeseburger mac and cheese, declaring it quite tasty as well. We were all too full to try the funnel cake fries for dessert, maybe next time. If nothing else, it's yet another reason to come back to the area.

The afternoon was a good time with friends, fried foods, and good conversation. I am really going to miss these folks.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #246

Today's Somebody Else's Fries come from The Bride, who got these at Philadelphia's wonderful Reading Terminal Market.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #241

French fries at the 2016 Philadelphia Writers' Conference, courtesy of attendee, fellow writer, and friend John V. Fahl, and Sonny's Cheesesteaks.

French Fry Diary 704: South Jersey Farewell Tour

As some of you may or may not know, The Bride and I are moving from the wonderful South Jersey/Philadelphia area to the Sunshine State of Florida. By the end of the summer we'll no longer be New Jersey residents. Before we go I will be eating and enjoying the last of such wonderful foods as cheesesteaks and soft pretzels for instance.

I have a number of places I want to visit one last time before we go, a farewell tour if you will. Favorites like The Pub, Donkey's Place, The Pop Shop, and Chickie's & Pete's are all on the list, but I want your input. If you were leaving this area, where would you want to go one last time? Let me know!

French Fry Diary 687: Silk City Diner & Lounge

I'm not sure when the last time I had been to the Silk City Diner & Lounge was. I'm thinking maybe the early 1990s to see a friend's band, the much-missed Cycle of Souls, originally known as The Fleshlords.

Either way, the place looks a lot different in the day time, not sure about the inside, because when friends Judy and Marc asked The Bride and me out to brunch there, we decided to eat outside.

As it was the first sunny hot day of the year, and at an uncomfortable 84 degrees striking quite a contrast to the previous weeks' winter weather, the forty-five minute wait was not fun. It didn't help that not all of our party were feeling their best, but we persevered and made the best of each other's company.

I ordered the Silk Cakes, which were three pancakes, with maple butter and candied bacon. I also got an order of the French fries, just because, after all who knew when the next time I'd be here would be. It was at least two decades since the last time.

The pancakes were huge and fluffy and very filling. The serving of the fresh natural cut fries was also huge, easily enough for the four of us to share. They were sprinkled with pepper, a nice touch, but a bit soggy and greasy, as if they could have used a few more minutes cook time. They were not good.

The home fries that I snagged from The Bride however were pretty good, with chunks of onions and peppers. They probably would've been a better choice.

Happily the company was better than the food. Still, good times.

By the way, have you voted in the poll on fry dipping sauces on the left side here yet? If not, please do. Remember, you can choose multiple answers, and you can always change your mind before the poll closes.

French Fry Diary 683: The Tot Cart

While I'm very close to the city of Philadelphia, I don't get into the city all that much, so there's a whole world of food - specifically the favorite fried food - that I don't get to talk about all that often. I'm talking about food trucks and carts. Unfortunately for the most part they are a city thing, but every once in a while, one will amble over t this side of the bridge.

National Night Out is one of those times. As part of the event, the powers-that-be tried to get everyone to go to what's left of the Echelon Mall, or as they like to call it, Voorhees Town Center. Face-painting, an outside viewing of Cars, and a variety of food carts and trucks were part of the bait. The food cart in question was The Tot Cart. Their motto is "Gourmet Tots, Straight to You" Come on, how could I resist?

In what is already a flustercluck in parking at the best of times, the powers-that-be made parking into a nightmare by blocking off most of what is usually an empty lot. Is it any wonder the Echelon Mall no longer exists? Malls aren't passé, but inept mall management is. Enough about what used to be a viable mall, we're here for the favorite fried food, in this case, tater tots.

I was joined by friend, fellow South Jersey Writer, and sometimes FFD contributor, Sarah Hawkins-Miduski. She had visited The Tot Cart before at another location, and had been impressed. Sadly that was not the case this night.

The signboard in front of the truck offered such goodies as Boardwalk Tots, Drunk Tots, New Bay Tots, Half-Loaded Tots, and Cowgirl Tots, all under the banner of Gourmet Tater Tots. Lots of promise here, most including The Tot Cart's famous Drunk Cheese. I ordered the Just Tots with the Drunk Cheese on the side, while Sarah got an order of the Half-Loaded Tots. We were prepared for the best, but should have done the opposite.

I had asked if the tater tots were made from scratch, and although the woman in the cart seemed pretty well versed in the making of tots from scratch, she admitted that these were frozen Ore-Ida Tater Tots. I was shocked, and sadly, they tasted like the worst deep-fried frozen tater tots you could imagine. Add in that I suspected they had been cooked quite some time before our arrival, these were pretty bad tots, a solid disappointment.

I did like the Drunk Cheese however, a secret beer cheese, or so they say. The cheese had a thick deep flavor, very tasty and would have gone well with fresh tots, had they been available. This added frustration made me less happy. Sarah was not as unhappy but admitted her previous experience was much better, and she wished she'd had those tots. She also thought the bacon, which was a bit too salty, didn't add much to her tots. It wasn't all bad, we talked about upcoming Disney trips as Sarah is a regular listener of The Make Mine Magic Podcast

I was very excited about this outing, and wished the tots had been better. I hope to sample them again at another time, when circumstances might be different, but as for now, I really can't recommend The Tot Cart, sorry.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #195

This one is a little more unorthodox than most of our Random Tater Pics. This is from one of last year's Philadelphia Wings' games at the Whatever-They're-Calling-It-This-Week Center, that moment when Utz Potato Chips takes over the ads inside for a few seconds...

French Fry Diary 661: Holy Land Pizza

Friends Judy and Marc insisted I try the fries at Holy Land Pizza in the Rhawnhurst area of Philadelphia. One of their favorite restaurants. And I trust them. They turned me on to Burger.Org and also New Harmony, a vegetarian Chinese restaurant, that believe or not, I actually enjoyed.

They have a rather large and varied ethnic menu online, but once there, we got a one sheet. That had this catastrophically picky eater worried, but it was cool, I just got the fries.

They were frozen fries, maybe freezer burned, deep fried. Not bad, but not great. The portion size is gigantic. Their small is considerably bigger than most pizza places' large orders. I gotta say though, I was not impressed. Sorry, Judy and Marc, I guess you can't win them all. The company was as always good however. You guys rock.

French Fry Diary 657: Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen

On our way to Florida for a much-deserved vacation, we arrived at Philadelphia International Airport early, and had enough time for a quick breakfast. Choices are limited, although places one wouldn’t expect to be open for breakfast were. Case in point - Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen.

They actually had a nice selection of breakfast foods, most of them in a sandwich, wrap, or omelet, so I ordered a la carte. I had a choice between plank-like hash browns (like McDonald's, but as with the ones on the Disney Cruise, vastly inferior) and breakfast potato chunks. Because they looked good, I went with the chunks, and bacon, because, well, bacon.

These were heat lamp potatoes in the worst way. When I say 'heat lamp,' I mean like they were under a heat lamp for a while. Yuck. They had red peppers, which was a plus, but were also only warm, looked old, felt dry, tasted stale. They were just not good at all. The image may look good but I assure they were not.

Of course they also gave me a huge serving of bacon, which was perfect and awesome. It's been a long time since I've had bacon this good. That's four stars for the bacon, but none for the potatoes. Also on the good side, they had Orange Crush, which is always great, even for breakfast.

For the record, in its traditional menu, which is only lunch and dinner, they don't seem to have the favorite fried food. Just sayin'.

French Fry Diary 655: The Dandelion

Guest post by Jessica A. Walsh

Fed up with the cold of February and going mad with cabin fever, I stumbled over to uwishunu for some ideas of something to do over the weekend in Philadelphia. A list of ten foods to eat before winter ends caught my eye. Looking for a new place to try for brunch, I scrolled past the briskets and stews, and paused at a photo of the Scotch pancakes at The Dandelion, an English style pub situated in a large converted Victorian house located near Rittenhouse Square at 18^th & Sansom Streets.  

After perusing the menu online, they had me at pickle brine bloody Marys.

The Dandelion is a very cool spot. It boasts several floors, winding staircases and many rooms all with different feels, several fireplaces, small bars and unique decor. My husband and I being bar people, we sat ourselves at a six person bar in a room with floor to ceiling windows adorned with thick drapes covered in dog print. Shelves on the walls held hundreds of porcelain statues of dogs of all breeds.  

After ordering a bloody Mary and a beer flight, we started with an English cheese board. I was intrigued by the quince paste and make it a point to always try at least one new thing when provided the opportunity to do so. The board came with three English cheeses, three types of house made crackers, grape chutney, the quince paste, honey, and grapes to cleanse the palate. I refused to look up quince on my phone and excitedly spread a little of the gelatinous rectangular paste onto a cracker.  It’s just a fruit, I later learned, not unlike a pear. The cheese board was lovely, as far as cheese boards go. I’ve only ever had one that truly disappointed.  

After a second bloody Mary and a relaxing wait, my scotch pancakes and Cumberland sausage arrived, as well as my husband’s burger and fries. When he told me he was considering the burger, I had gently suggested that he might like to try something different. The bartender, overhearing me, smiled a knowing smile and with a sort of reverence, said, “Get the burger. And let her take a bite.” Those few words would later increase his tip over the 20% mark.

But first for the pancakes. Sitting on top of these small, thick cakes were maple apples and a mound of light as air cinnamon creme that melted all over my plate, and was heavenly. The Cumberland sausage was authentic and delicious. I smiled after every single bite. Well done, uwishunu!
As for the burger, yes, I did take a bite, and it was the best damn burger I had tasted in a long time. Beautiful fresh brioche, house-blend aged beef, apple smoked bacon, Vermont sharp cheddar, Brooklyn brine pickles, and Churchill sauce. I have no idea what Churchill sauce is, but I will tell you that this burger was worth every penny of its $16.50 price.

But what about the fries, you ask! First of all, they came alongside a small glass jar of large malt salt with a little wooden spoon. Very thick, at least half an inch in diameter, these fries were crisp on the outside and hot, perfectly baked potato on the inside. In fact, they were so thick that I actually put mine down between bites! After my fry, I said to my husband, "I don't think a fry has ever taken me six bites before."

I loved The Dandelion. Great ambiance, great service, great food, GREAT FRIES!

Today's guest post here at French Fry Diary comes from Jessica A. Walsh, super cool friend, fellow member of the South Jersey Writers' Group, and a terrific writer, editor, and blogger. You can read her uplifting and inspirational blog The Cracking Nut here, check out the Reading Glasses anthology here, and Follow her Twitter here.

The Physics of the Perfect French Fry

Sadly, I won't be able to attend this event, but maybe some of you out there will.

The Physics of the Perfect French Fry, hosted by Dr. Scott Paulson, a French fry enthusiast and physics and astronomy professor from James Madison University, this event will take place Monday evening at 6 PM at National Mechanics in Philadelphia. He'll be talking about all the ins and outs of fries, as well as the actual science behind it.

More details can be found here, let me know if you go, what you've learned, and most of all - how were the fries!

Thanks to Dom, Brian, and Carol for all hipping me to this one. You guys rock!

Random Tater Pic of the Day #168

Today's Somebody Else's Fries are actually tater tots from fellow writer and blogger Sarah Hawkins-Miduski. You can read all about it here.

Vote for Larry's South Philly Retro Dog!

Remember a little while ago when I told you about the 3rd Annual Create-A-Dog Contest at Cool Dog Café?

Well, The Bride entered the contest with a special hot dog in honor of her late father - Larry's South Philly Retro Dog, and made it to the finals!

She designed this special hot dog to be reminiscent of the legendary classic hot dogs at Levis Hot Dogs that used be in South Philadelphia, a favorite of her father's.

So get on over to the Cool Dog Café and get Larry's South Philly Retro Dog, try the others too, but vote for the Larry Dog, and don't forget the fries!

Shoo Fry

My friend and GAR! Podcast partner Ray Cornwall sent this one to me while he was waiting for his brakes to be fixed at the King of Prussia Mall.

Shoo Fry has since closed that location but plan to open a permanent restaurant in Center City Philadelphia in the Spring/Summer. You can check out their Facebook page here, and their official website here.

The place has quite a concept. You choose a choice of potato cut (classic, curly, wedge, ribbon), then choose a protein, and then any number of sauces, toppings, etc. They also have sliders and milkshakes as well. You can check out their intriguing menu here. I can't wait for their new location to open.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #139

They've had this for a couple seasons now, but Chickie & Pete's has their fingers on the pulse of technology for the favorite fried food. Here's their amazing cup holder for their terrific white cheese that goes so well with their amazing Crab Fries.

Grindhouse Killer Burgers

Back in September, one of my favorite bloggers and writers, Liz Henry, a recent transplant from Philly to Atlanta, visited Grindhouse Killer Burgers and got these crinkle cut fries.

Liz says: "They have just a hint of Old Bay and, by far, the best fries we've had since we got here. Unlike Philly, not everywhere offers fries. Pizza places are, generally, pizza only and maybe salads. It's kinda killing me. Heh. The burger is the 'Yankee.'"

Wow. Who's up for an Atlanta roadtrip?

French Fry Diary 553: Victory Beer Hall, Xfinity Live

I have been a Philadelphia Wings season ticket holder for nearly a quarter of a century. When I first started going to games, we had a fierce team that constantly won and took us to the championship several times. The last decade or so however has been lean, and I'm being kind.

The Bride renewed our season tickets this year automatically. Had it been up to me, I wouldn't have, or at the very least there would have been some discussion. With the lean years for the team, management has been less giving to the fans, and especially the faithful season ticket holders. For example, they threw us a party, where we had to pay outrageous stadium prices for the food. As if sixteen dollars per game to park wasn't enough. It goes up every year, soon it will be more to park than it is to buy a ticket.

Nevertheless, that's not what I'm here to talk about. The party, where we also got to meet the new players, and the remaining old players, as well as mascot Mad Dog, was at the Victory Beer Hall, inside the Xfinity Live sports bar complex at the center of the three stadiums in Philadelphia. Nice place for the most part, tables and benches, a stage, many big screen TVs, no complaints really.

The Bride ordered loaded fries with cheese, bacon, and scallions. These natural cuts came in a big portion and I thought they were pretty good. She said she thought they would have been better if they used Cheez Whiz instead of whipped cheddar. She is originally a Philly girl, so she does know her Whiz. I don't know though, I kinda liked them.

I got a burger with a side of homemade BBQ potato chips. The burger wasn't bad, but then again, I got it plain, so it wasn't as piled high as some we saw. It was good, but it wasn't ten dollars good, which is what they charged. The chips had a good big crunch, got cold quick and were a bit overseasoned, but

they had a good kick when I put them on the burger. That was great.

The portions were huge. Folks around us also ordered massive (4"x8") stuffed baked potatoes and a giant soft pretzel that filled a 12" plate. That was seriously big, and it fed a family of three, and they were so full they thought they would be sick.

The party had a good turn out despite my (and a lot of fans) being disenchanted with the team the past few years. The team was enthusiastic, and while they did not win their first home game last week, they gave a hell of an exciting game. Let's hope for the best for the rest of the season. Go Wings!

Random Tater Pic of the Day #121

These Somebody Else's Fries come from my podcast partner Ray Cornwall. He had these "really good room service fries" at the Four Points Sheraton at Philadelphia Airport. Thanks, Ray!